Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
PROGRAMME 1
In the series ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, Radio Nederland presents a program.
Today we invite you to listen to a concert given on the organ of the Eusebius Church at Arnhem.
Now before telling you more about this instrument, here is the ‘allegro moderato e serioso’ from the Sonata nr. I by Felix Mendelssohn, played by the resident organist: Johan van Dommele.
Sonata nr. I ALLEGRO MODERATO E SERIOSO 7′00″
by Felix Mendelssohn,
There you heard the ‘Allegro moderato e serioso’ from the Sonate nr. 1 by Mendelssohn played on the organ of the Eusebius Church at Arnhem. Originally the organ was built for the Lutheran church in Amsterdam by Johannes Strümphler in 1793. Strümphler could find plenty of work there and peace and quiet in which to do it, for Europe was at the time on the brink of the revolutionary wars, which were soon to spread to Holland. But the organ was installed before the invasion and the good burghers could find comfort in singing their psalms to its accompaniment as the French marched past outside. The organ was not to remain in Amsterdam and how it came to Arnhem is another story. Before we go into that, here first is the organist Johan Dommele to play “0 Welt ich musz dich Lassen” opus 122 by Johannes Brahms.
Johannes Brahms
O WELT ICH MUSZ DICH LASSEN , opus 122 no 11 3′ 30″
Since 1793 Amsterdam had expanded enormously so that by 1947 the residential areas had been moved more to the suburbs leaving as it were the Lutheran church in the midst of offices and shops; few people lived thereafter working hours so the church was no longer used. The question now was what to do with the organ. But before we move with it to Arnhem, let us again listen to it. You will hear another Brahms composition, ‘Herzlich tut mich erfreuen’.
Johannes Brahms
HERZLICH TUT MICH ERFREUEN 2′15″
During the battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Eusebius Church and its organ were totally destroyed. Where on the one hand - in Amsterdam - the organ had to disappear as a result of peace and prosperity, it reappeared on the other hand to heal the wounds of war and devastation .. in other words, the Amsterdam instrument was taken to Arnhem and there installed in the newly built Eusebius Church. The instrument left there is in itself a work of art, resting nowadays on four marble pillars, and having a far more prominent position than in Amsterdam. We shall not go into technical details but to give you an idea: it has three manuals and 48 stops (distributed over the great, upper and positive with independent pedal work.) Now let us again listen to it as the organist Johan van Dommele plays the ‘Fugue in A flat minor’ by Johannes Brahms.
Johannes Brahms
FUGUE A: FLAT MINOR 7′45″
That was the ‘Fugue in A flat minor’ by Johannes Brahms played by Johan van Dommele on the organ in the St. Eusebius Church at Arnhem. The last work Johan van Dommele will play for us is the ‘Fugue in A minor’, this time the composer is Mozart and it will be interesting to hear the difference. For one thing, there is a lighter touch to the Mozart fugue and of course there are many other differences in conception, use of the stops and tempo. It was an excellent idea to include two fugues by two so totally different composers on the program. It gives us an opportunity to form an opinion of the composers, of the organ and perhaps of the organist too. The ‘Fugue in A minor’ by Mozart.
W.A. Mozart
FUGUE IN A MINOR 3′30″
27′48″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Progeramma 1.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van de Eusebius Church in Arnhem met muziek van Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms en Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Organist is Johan van Dommele.
Eusebius Church, Arnhem, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johan van Dommele,
Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
18th CENTURY ORGANS, PROGRAMME 2
In the series ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’ Radio Nederland presents a programme of organ music. Today we ask you to join us in a small village church somewhere in our northern province of Groningen: its name is Noordbroek and if it wasn’t for its organ, very few people would have heard of it. Let u listen to the organ first hear for ourselves whether we were justified in making that statement. The organist Cor Edskes will open this concert with the ‘Prelude and fugue in F major’ by Vincent Lübeck.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN FIS BY LUBECK 3′4″
Organ building seems to have been a family affair and one of these who became famous for their exquisite craftsmanship was the Schnittger family who lived in the North of Germany somewhere near Hamburg. After the death of the founder Arp Schnittger, his sons Franz and Hans moved to the Netherlands and began to build organs in the town of Zwolle. Not many of their organs have served, but the one built by Arp Schnittger in 1696, was the one you have just heard. As it is being played now the ‘Great’ has ten stops, the ‘positive’ 7 and the pedal 6. Here is Cor Edskes to play ‘Liebster Herr Jesu wir sind hier” by Johann Sebastian Bach.
LIEBSTER HERR JESU WIR SIND HERE 3′45″
You have now heard this organ in two different compositions, one by Bach, which is as good a test as any for an organ, and one by Vincent Lübeck, who is perhaps less known. Lübeck belongs to the eighteenth century school of North German organists. He lived and worked in Hamburg where he died in 1740. He was the head organist of the Nicolai Kirche(church) and is considered as one of the important precursors of Bach. It is therefore interesting to compare the two works you have just heard especially on an organ dating from approximately the same period. But before we go on let us listen again to that organ. Here are two variations on ‘Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir’ by Georg Böhm.
AUS TIEFER NOT SCHREI ICH ZU DIR 3′10
‘Aus Tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir’ by Georg Böhm… (also one of Bach’s precursors) and again you will have noticed a certain similarity, but there is infinitely more polish, if I may put it that way, in Bach’s work. The works of Bohm and Lübeck form some of those threads which Bach so aptly wove into his music. Here is one variation on ‘Vater Unser Himmelreich’ by Bach.
VATER UNSER IM HIMMELREICH 3′35″
Before we come to the last selection in this organ concert which is coming to you from Noordbroek in the northern province of Groningen, a word or two about that selection. It is the ‘Prelude and Fugue in E minor’, again by Bach.
The fugue, a form we so often find in organ music, was developed by he Dutch organist-composer Sweelinck and the Italian Frescobaldi in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Their pupils, most of them Germans, perfected the form and ultimately its neatest master became Johan Sebastian Bach.
The exposition of a fugue consists of subject entries in the keys of the tonic or dominant. The principal theme is stated alone in any voice, soprano, alto, tenor or bass. The answer then is made in a complimentary voice. If the subject is in the soprano the answer will be in the alto or bass, and so on. A slight knowledge of the structure of a fugue will be helpful in a better appreciation of the music we hear and the organs it is played on.
Here no, finally is Bach’s ‘Prelude and Fugue in E minor’.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN E MINOR 5′30″
27′53″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Programma 2.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van de kerk van het dorpje Noordbroek, ergens in de provincie Groningen met muziek van Vincent Lübeck, Johann Sebastiaan Bach en Georg Böhm. Organist is Kees van Houten.
Noordbroek, Vincent Lübeck, Johann Sebastiaan Bach, Georg Böhm, Kees van Houten,
Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
PROGRAMME 3
Radio Nederland presents a program in the series ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’.
Today we invite you to listen to a concert on the organ of the St. Lambertus Cathedral in Helmond, a provincial town in the South of Holland. This organ was not originally intended for the church in which it now stands. Guillaume Robustelly built it in 1772 for an abbey church in Belgium where it was used until about eighteen hundred. Owing to political developments in that country, the monks had to leave the abbey and the organ was no longer used. Before telling you more about this organ, let us listen to it first. Here is the organist Kees van Houten to play three parts of the ‘Mess pour les paroisses’ by François Couperin.
MESSE POUR LES PAROISSES 16′40″
a. Plein chant du premier Kyrie: En taille
b. Couplet no. 8 du Gloria: Dialogue en trio du cornet et de la tierce
c. Offertoire sur les grands jeux
Now that you have heard the voice or rather the many voices of this organ, let us see what befell it after it had been abandoned by the monks in Belgium. The reverend fathers of the church at Helmond, which by the way is not far from the place where the monks lived, where the organ now stood lonely and forsaken, bought the instrument in 1822 and installed it in their church. But when in 1862 the old church at Helmond was pulled down, a new and much larger cathedral was erected in its place and there the organ found its permanent abode. There seems to have been a time when it was considered essential to change the structure and tonality of organs, most likely, to suit the taste of the day. This also happened to the organ in Helmond. But, as was so often the case, these changes meant no improvement, on the contrary. Not very long ago all the innovations were removed and the organ was brought back to its original state. Today it is particularly suited to play French organ music, and it is for that reason that we’ve chosen works by François Couperin, or as he is known in France, Couperin le Grand, for he came from a musical family who all made names for themselves. But François was the greatest .. le Grand. It is quite by accident that we have his organ compositions, because it had long been held that Couperin only wrote music for other instruments, especially the harpsichord. Thanks to the recent researches of two French organists, it is now possible to state definitely, that the work you have just heard and the one you will hear in a minute, were written by François and not by Couperin the elder. Listen now to four parts from the ‘Messe pour les couvents’ by François Couperin.
MESSE POUR LES COUVENTS 8′35″
a. Couplet no 5 du Kyrie: dialogue sur la trompette du grand clavier et sur montre, le bourdon et le nasard du positif
b. Couplet nu 5 du Gloria: cromorne sur la taille
c. Agnus dei: Plein jeu
d. Dernier couplet d’Agnus Dei: dialogue sur les grands jeux
27′45″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Programma 3.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van de St. Lambertus Catheral in Helmond met muziek van François Couperin. Organist is Kees van Houten.
St. Lambertus Catheral, Helmond, François Couperin, Kees van Houten,
Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
PROGRAMME 4
Radio Nederland presents a programme in the series ‘Netherlands Church 0rgans of the eighteenth century’.
In one of Holland’s northern provinces, there is a quaint little village called Oldeboorn. The people there go about their daily tasks, mostly agricultural, as in so many other villages in this country. Why Oldeboorn should have attained the distinction of becoming the subject of a broadcast is because of one thing … its organ. There in the little village church you will find an instrument whose renown has spread far and wide. But before giving you more details let’s listen to it for a moment.
Organist Jan Jongepier will play ‘Preambulum; fugen et finalis’ by Franz Xaver Murschhauser.
PREAMBULUM, FUGEN ET FINALIS 6′40
Franz Xaver Murschhauser, whose composition you have just heard on the Oldeboorn organ, may not be so well known today, but he is considered as one of the best composers of organ music before Bach. As you will have noticed The organ is one of the smaller types, in fact the first made by the Dutch organ builder Lambertus van Dam, a citizen of Friesland’s capital Leeuwarden. It was his first and at the same time his masterpiece.
It was built in 1799 and has all the elegance typical of the period; his later instruments have never attained such artistic beauty nor such quality of tone. For you to judge that quality, here once again is Jan Jongepier to play the ‘Magnificat noni toni’ ‘Meine Seele erhebt den Herren’ by the German composer Delphin Strungk.
MAGNIFICAT NONI TONI 12′:45″
Taking a closer look at the organ we find, that it has a near resemblance to the organs built in South Germany and in Austria in the middle of the eighteenth century. A few years ago the instrument was thoroughly overhauled so that today its tone and outward appearance are exactly what they were in 1779. The ‘great’ of this organ has ten stops and the ‘positive’ seven. Let us now once again listen to it as we hear the Preambulum supra ‘Jesu meiner Freude’ by Johann Ludwig Krebs.
PREAMBULUM SUPRA, ‘JESU MEINE FREUDE’. 1′35″
Finally in this organ recitel the organist Jan Jongepier plays a work by Johannes Speth. Listening to it as it is played on a comparatively small organ, we must wonder of the skill of those18th century organ builders, who having none of the modern techniques at their disposal, nevertheless achieved a truely great quality of tone. Listen and judge for yourself. Here is the ‘Toccata Secunda’ from ‘ars magni consoni et dissoni’ by Johannes Speth.
Ars magni consoni et dissoni, TOCCATA SECUNDA 3′50″
28′12″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Programma 4.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van de kerk in het dorpje Oldeboorn gelegen in één van de noordelijke provincies van Nederland, met muziek van Franz Xaver Murschhauser, Delphin Strungk, Johann Ludwg Krebs en Johannes Speth. Organist is Jan Jongepier.
Oldeboorn, Franz Xaver Murschhauser, Delphin Strungk, Johann Ludwg Krebs, Johannes Speth, Jan Jongepier,
Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
PROGRAMMA 5
In the series ‘Netherlands Church organs of the eighteenth century’, Radio Nederland presents a programme of organ music.
Today we invite you to listen to one of the most famous organs in Europe. We refer to the instrument installed in the Saint Bavo Church at Haarlem, a town close to Amsterdam. It took Christiaan Müller of that same city three years to build it and when in 1738 it was ready for use it was considered the biggest organ in Europe. Before telling you more about this instrument, let’s listen to it first. Here is the resident organist Piet Kee, to play Bach’s ‘Prelude and fugue in C major’.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE IN C MAJOR by Joh. Seb. Bach 6′55″
Without going into too many details, it may be interesting in this particular case, to tell you that the organ has as many as 60 stops; the large manual has 16, the upper manual 15, the positive 14 and the pedal 15 which includes a 32 foot clarion and a 32 foot principal. We know for a fact that George Fredrich Händel and the young Mozart played on it.
Now here is organist Piet Kee to take over with the ‘Trio in A minor’ by Johann Ludwig Krebs.
TRIO IN A MINOR 4′30″
‘Trio in A minor’ by Johann Ludwig Krebs, played on the organ of the Saint Bavo Church at Haarlem.
This beautiful organ too, as so many others, underwent changes and modifications as regards tone, no doubt to suit the taste of the day. In this altered form we listened to it back in 1957 and even then it made a mighty impression. But according to connoisseurs it could be even far better if it were restored to its original form. Or in other words brought back to the instrument Christiaan Muller intended it to be. But who could undertake such a gigantic task? Who could have the skill, the craftsmanship and the musicality to restore this organ to its original splendour? After much casting about the Danish builder Marcussen was found willing or perhaps was courageous enough to undertake the task. And he did an excellent job. Now listen to ‘Aoh Gott erhör mein Seufzen” again by Johann Ludwig Krebs.
ACH GOTT ERHOER MEIN SEUFZEN 3′55″
‘Ach Gott erhör mein Seufzen’ by Johann Ludwig Krebs, was played by Piet Kee. The tone of the organ is also dependent upon the acoustics of the church it is played in. Now for some reason or other the placing of the organ in the Saint Bavo Church was such that acoustically it was well nigh perfect. The church which was completed in 1520, seems to have adapted itself to the whole scale of sound, poured forth by this wonderful instrument for so many years… or it may have been the other way about. Let’s now listen to Bach’s ‘Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sind’.
WENN WIR IN HOCHSTEN NOTEN SIND 2′23″
‘Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sind’, by Johann Sebastian Bach. Organ recitals are regularly given in the Saint Bavo Church and, on such occasions you will usually find Piet Kee at the key-board. Listen now for the last time in this concert of organ music, played on a great organ and by no mean organist either, for it was Piet Kee who won the international organ contest three times. Here now is ‘Fantasia and Fugue in C minor’ by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach
FANTASIA AND FUGA 5′50″
‘Fantasia and Fugue in C minor’ by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach.
You have been listening to a concert given on the organ of the Saint Bavo Church at Haarlem. The organist was Piet Kee. This programme in the series ‘Netherlands church-organs of the eighteenth century’ came to you through the transcription service of Radio Nederland, the Dutch world broadcasting system.
27′50″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Programma 5.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van Sint Bavo Kerk in Haarlem, één van de beroemdste orgels van Europa, met muziek van Johannes Sebastiaan Bach, Johann Ludwig Krebs en Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach. Organist is Piet Kee.
Sint Bavo Kerk, Haarlem, Johann Sebastiaan Bach, Johann Ludwig Krebs, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Piet Kee,
- B244534.06 Netherlands Church Organs of the 18th century : 6: Leens / 1968-05-31 / 00:27: 23
Compiler and editor: Dr. Jos Wouters
Producer: Lambert Erné
Narrator: Ian Elliot
18th CENTURY ORGANS PROGRAMME 6
In the series ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’ Radio Nederland presents a programme of organ music. Today we ask you to join us in the village of Leens, in the northern province of Groningen, where we shall listen to an organ recital given in the village church on an organ which was built in 1733. Albertus Hinsch, a pupil of the famous Sohnittger, built the organ and historically speaking it is one of our most valued instruments. And not only historically speaking… as you can judge for yourselves. Here is organist Wim van Beek to play four variations from the Chorale Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig” by Georg Böhm.
ACH WIE NICHTIG, ACH WIE FLUECHTIG 4′15″
As has been the case with many old organs, the one in Leens has also had a chequered life. In the course of the nineteenth century, many alterations were made, no doubt to suit the taste of the day and also because experts then thought that alteration might improve the tonality and range of the max organ. As regards the range they were right but in the case of tonality, it soon appeared that the old system of stops ensured far greater tone values. Once this had been established builders set out to restore that part of the organ to its original form. It is in this form that we hear the instrument again, this time with Dietrich Buxtehude’s ‘Te Deum Laudamus’. Buxtehude was one of the most important precursors of Bach. He was born in Northern Germany and died in 1707 in Lübeck.
Buxtehude’s writing includes sonatas for strings, a large quantity of organ music, many cantatas for solo voices, and chorales. Finally let us now listen to his ‘Te Deum Laudamus’. It consists of five parts: Preludium, Te Deum Laudamus, Te martyrum, Tu Deviate and Pleni sunt coeli.
TE DEUM LAUDAMUS 20′30″
a. Preludium
b. Te Deum laudamus
c. Te martyrum
d. Tu Devicto
e. Pleni sunt coeli
With the ‘Te Deum Laudamus’ by Dietrich Buxtehude we conclude this concert of organ music in the series ‘Netherlands Church Organs in the eighteenth century’. The organ was the one at Leens in Groningen and the organist Wim van Beek. The programme came to you through the transcription service of Radio Nederland in Hilversum, Holland.
27′23″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
De serie ‘Netherlands Church Organs of the eighteenth century’, (’Nederlandse kerkorgels van de 18e eeuw’), gepresenteerd door Radio Netherland. Programma 6.
Vandaag een concert gegeven op het orgel van de kerk in het dorp Leens, in de provincie Groningen, met muziek geschreven door Georg Böhm en Ditrich Buxtehude. Organist is Wim van Beek.
Leens, Georg Böhm, Ditrich Buxtehude, Wim van Beek,
Texts of the 6 episodes only. See also ‘Comment 1′ of B244534.01 up to and including B244534.06.
26′43″
lw … , the Dutch World Broadcasting System.
Teksten van de 6 afleveringen. Zie ook ‘Comment 1′ van B244534.01 tot en met B244534.06.
